Why Pearl Modiadie won’t talk about her pregnancy

After reverting back to a life of absolute privacy following her very public break-up, media personality Pearl Modiadie is reportedly pregnant with a child she absolutely will not speak about.

Why?

Because it goes against her culture.

According to Sunday World, the Tsonga television and radio personality is expecting her first child with her French boyfriend who is a businessman based in South Africa.

“She is pregnant and she is so excited because this is her first experience, so you can imagine. She has been trying to keep this thing a secret because her culture does not allow her to talk about pregnancy, even though the bump is now visible and no longer hideable,” one of her publicists told the publication.

While keeping your pregnancy hush-hush during the first trimester is a global practice, a number of African cultures dictate that you should not publicly flaunt the pregnancy at all.

This also applies to the common practices of having baby showers and accepting gifts at those events based on a number of fears ranging from the possibility that the baby could be bewitched by jealous acquaintances or the superstitious belief that flaunting a pregnancy could result in birth defects that could lead to a difficult life for the child once they are born.

There is also the ever-present fear that the baby might be stillborn or born with other illnesses.

Additional beliefs dictate that you should not let anyone touch you or your belly as they may transfer bad spirits on to you. Another belief is that you shouldn’t allow any visitors to see the baby during the first three months of their life to avoid any of the above-mentioned.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.